New Delhi, April 24: Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh on Friday said he would seek the disqualification of Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak from the Upper House for joining the BJP.
In a post on X, Singh said he would submit a letter to the Rajya Sabha chairman demanding that the three MPs be disqualified under the anti-defection law.
“I will submit a letter to the Rajya Sabha Chairman seeking that Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak be declared disqualified from Rajya Sabha membership for joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),” he said.
Singh said their decision to join another party amounted to voluntarily giving up membership of their original party under the provisions of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.
Earlier in the day, AAP Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak, in a joint press conference, announced that they were leaving the party and joining the BJP. Chadha claimed that nearly two-thirds of AAP’s Rajya Sabha MPs had quit the party and would function as a separate faction before formally joining the BJP.
He also said several leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal and former cricketer-turned-politician Harbhajan Singh, had also resigned from AAP.
According to Chadha, seven out of AAP’s 10 Rajya Sabha MPs have quit the party. (PTI)
Punjab CM slams AAP MPs who quit party
Chandigarh, April 24: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday dubbed AAP’s Rajya Sabha members, who quit the party and announced joining the BJP, as “gaddars” (traitors).
Addressing a press conference here, Mann accused the BJP of trying to break the Aam Aadmi Party and alleged that they had “betrayed the people of Punjab.”
Mann claimed that ever since the strict law against ‘beadbi’ (sacrilege) was enacted, the BJP’s unease has been evident as it struggles to accept decisive action on an issue deeply tied to Punjab’s sentiments.
He stated that the BJP, which has repeatedly faced rejection in Punjab, has responded with hostility towards both the state and the AAP, attempting to weaken a corruption-free government through intimidation, inducements, and efforts to engineer defections.
Notably, the developments come at a time when Punjab Assembly elections are scheduled for early next year. Condemning both those leaving the party and those facilitating such moves, Mann asserted that the BJP’s lack of political ground has pushed it towards such tactics even as visible improvements in schools, hospitals, roads, and employment have unsettled it. (PTI)
